So you’ve had enough of Android and have purchased a plane ticket to the land of Apple. In this article, we’ll show you how to pack for your trip and give you some pointers on how to make the transfer go well. Breaking out from Google’s ecosystem and all of its many phones will be challenging, but don’t worry; we’ve got you covered.

1. What you’re leaving behind

Consider what you won’t be able to take with you when you ditch Android. Your phone cover and desktop dock may not be compatible with your new iPhone, but there’s a high possibility that any other Android accessories you buy will. They should work just fine if they rely on Bluetooth. iPhone compatibility is standard on most speaker accessories and docks. Even wired headphones will function with the latest iPhones, however, a Lightning-to-3.5mm converter is required.

Think about what you won’t be able to bring with you if you ditch Android. Although your phone case and desktop dock may not be compatible with your new iPhone, any other Android accessories you purchase are likely to be. If they rely on Bluetooth, they should be good. Most speaker docks and accessories provide iPhone connectivity as standard. Even wired headphones work with the latest iPhones, but you’ll need a Lightning-to-3.5mm converter.

2. Use Apple’s app

The simplest way to transition from Android to iPhone is to use Apple’s Move to iOS app, which is accessible on the Google Play Store. This software will transfer your contacts, message history, photos, videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, and calendars to your new iPhone. Ignore the low rating; it’s due to the Android-versus-iOS battle, not the app’s functionality. Simply download and install it on your old Android phone, then follow the on-screen instructions to copy over the material you want.

If you don’t want to use Apple’s app or it doesn’t work for you, don’t worry; we’ve got plenty of other options below.

3. Transferring contacts

Naturally, you’ll want to bring your contacts with you, and there are a few additional options for doing so. Start with this article on how to move contacts from iPhone to Android, and you’ll find that utilizing Gmail and iTunes, the procedure is simple. In a nutshell, when you link a Google Account to your iPhone, all of your Google contacts are merged into the Contacts app.

4. Switching from Google to Apple services

We described all of the Google services that you might consider utilizing to replace Apple’s offerings when we addressed how to convert from iPhone to Android, but going the other way is a lot easier because all of the Google services you’ve been using on Android are also available on iOS. This Apple App Store page has a comprehensive list.

Google Maps, Chrome, YouTube Music (or Google Play Music), Google Drive, and even Google Assistant are among the apps available for iOS. They may operate in a slightly different manner than their Android counterparts, but if you’re a great fan of any of them, having them on iOS should put you at rest.

Of course, there are lots of Apple options, and your new iPhone will arrive with them pre-installed. You should take a look at the following:

The iTunes Store and the App Store are two separate stores, one for music and the other for software. Simple!

Apps for accessing content purchased through the two stores: Music, Books, and Apple TV.

Safari is a web browser that allows you to sync your bookmarks across all of your Apple devices.

iCloud: Stores your files, contacts, calendars, and images on the cloud.

CarPlay: Access to navigation and content while driving.
There’s also the Apple Maps app, which provides turn-by-turn directions as well as a slew of pricey add-ons. iMovie and GarageBand are two programmes that creative folks will want to explore. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are ideal for workaholics. iTunes U also has the world’s largest collection of free educational content.

If you enjoy gaming, we suggest Apple Arcade, a $5 monthly subscription service that offers you access to a considerable collection of games without commercials. To whet your appetite, here are some of our favorite Apple Arcade games.

5. Moving photos, videos, and music

It is critical to back up your priceless memories. Take a look at our guide to backing up, speeding up, and cleaning up your Android device before continuing. Unless you’ve saved files in the Downloads folder, you shouldn’t have to manually transfer files from Android to iOS. All of your Play Store purchases, including music, movies, TV series, e-books, and more, are accessible through Google’s iOS applications, and you can even download them for offline usage. Unless you wish to completely forsake Google, you don’t need to export and import media.

Meanwhile, if you backed up your photographs and movies produced, you can access them on an iPhone using the Camera app, Google Photos, or another cloud service.

If your Android smartphone has enough space, back up this content to the cloud before wiping it. If you need more capacity, you may purchase 100GB of Google One storage for $2 per month, with the option to cancel at any time. This and related services are frequently accessible as apps for Android, iOS, and iPadOS, making transfers straightforward.

Uploading files to a cloud service like OneDrive or Dropbox and then re-downloading them to your new iPhone is the best solution for files you manually downloaded to your Android phone. Another alternative is to use a wired or Bluetooth connection to transfer your downloaded files. For Windows, macOS, and even Chrome OS, we provide a guide on how to do so. Using a computer, you copy the files from your Android device and then transfer them to your new iPhone.

Moving your text messages

You don’t want to lose your old text messages when you transfer phones. The majority of them will go undetected, but you might wish to keep a special goodbye or romantic letter. Unfortunately, there are only one means to do so that we are aware of, and it comes directly from Apple. It’s the Move to iOS app, which can also transfer your Android contacts, photographs, videos, mail accounts, browser bookmarks, and calendars to iOS.

Hello, and welcome to iOS.

I’d like to congratulate you on your new phone. It’ll feel strange at first, and there will be some things you miss about Android, but iOS is developed to be intuitive, so you shouldn’t have too much concern about getting used to it.